Merder AU

Chapter 1

Meredith Grey was standing in front of her mirror frowning. Picture Day. Why did they have t make it the first day of school when her sleep schedule was still messed up and she fell asleep at 3 am and looked tired and sad and, well, looked like crap. It was also her first day of high school, which didn't much help things. Neither did the constant reminders throughout Summer break from Derek and Mark that freshmen year was awful and stressful all the time. and it was also their fault she stayed up so late. They insisted every time she wanted to hang up the phone to stay and bribed her with study help. So she had caved.

She groaned and turned to look at the clock, and sighed. She still had an hour before she had to leave. Which she normally wouldn't have used and she would have slept more, but she woke up to go to the bathroom and couldn't fall back asleep. So she slept a total of three and a half hours. Life was going really good. She shimmied in front of the mirror to get all the jittery nerves out. She stood still and practiced her smile a couple times before she gave up and decided to wing it. 

She was trying to wake herself up, so she turned towards her closet, put her feet together, and hopped to the doors. Luckily there would be no deciding what to wear given the school she went to had a uniform. Not in the middle school or lower school, so this was her first year wearing it. She disliked the fact the girls had to wear skirts, but liked that Amelia, one of Derek's sisters, had argued the year before to let them wear pants when it was cold. At least there was that. They still had to wear a school jacket over their plain white t-shirt, which was annoying.

She shimmied out of her pajama shorts, and pulled up the classic plaid schoolgirl shirt. Maybe I should put my hair in ponytail braids too, Meredith thought. She put on the shirt and sighed as she shrugged on the jacket. She pulled her hair out of them, and grabbed her hairbrush. She winced as the brush hit a knot and pulled on her head. She got through them all, and looked once more at the mirror, the dark circles under her eyes still there, but less noticeable, deceasing with time. She grabbed her phone off her floor where it was charging and flopped across her bed as she checked for messages from anyone.

She had one from Mark, one from Derek, one from Cristina, and one from her mother. She clicked on the one from her mother and wasn't shocked to learn her mother had left two hours ago for an emergency surgery. Also wasn't surprised she was supposed to find her own way to school. She had already secured a ride with Cristina, her best friend, just in case.

She opened Cristina's next, which had been sent late last night and Meredith must have missed it. It started off normal, hating on school and the uniforms. Then it ventured into her mother, which was also normal. What wasn't normal was the mention of Burke. Preston Burke, but everyone called him Burke. Meredith recognized the name as a boy who was friends with Mark and Derek, ish. Not best friends but friends. She had no idea Cristina even knew him and was even more shocked to learn they kissed at the pool this Summer. She speed read through the message and responded immediately, demanding to know why she didn't know sooner, after agreeing with the points made about school and uniforms and mothers.

Mark's message was short and to the point.

hey kiddo first year of high school. i would say fun but it sucks so good luck with like homework and stuff. no drinking or drugs, and definitely no sex. Boyfriends and kisses are allowed, but only after I approve of the boy first. Love you mer, see you tomorrow at lunch?

Her and Mark's relationship was weird. Despite the fact he was two years older, he was her best friend. They were next door neighbors, and his family often took her in when her mom was working. He was like her brother. The only reason she wasn't riding in his car was Derek. She was friends with Derek, but he has four sisters so the car was packed and she couldn't fit, unless she was strapped to the sunroof. They had tried that when Mark first got his license. He went one mile an hour the whole ride up their driveway, and Meredith wanted to go again. He went faster this time, a whole five miles an hour, and Meredith threw up. She and Mark had spent the rest of the day scrubbing vomit off the side of the car.